Animal Trainers in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,266
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$7,424
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,817
Minnesota costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Minnesota — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$41,690
Kept after tax
$34,266
Worth in national money
$34,817
State rank
16
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Minnesota sits in the middle of the pack for animal trainers. The median is $41,690, ranking 16 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Minnesota, this one sits low: 436 of 490 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $41,690 the take-home is $34,266, which is worth about $34,817 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $46,410, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Minnesota occupies the middle band for animal trainers: a median of $41,690, ranking 16 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Animal trainers occupies position 436 of 490 in Minnesota's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Minnesota's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for animal trainers on its $41,690 median: $34,266 retained after tax becomes $34,817 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $46,410 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Animal Trainers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,190 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $41,690 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,820 |
| This salary | $41,690 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Minnesota | $34,266 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $35,678 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,898 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $39,933 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,295 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of animal trainers in Minnesota earn under $41,690 and half over. The published range runs $34,190 at the tenth percentile to $62,820 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $34,266 take-home in Minnesota comes from $41,690. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 436 of 490.
- One number stands for prices across all of Minnesota, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $34,817, the adjusted value of that $41,690 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 436 of 490 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for animal trainers in Minnesota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $34,190 to $62,820; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $34,266, from $41,690, assumes a single Minnesota filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 436 of 490 locally, and the state ranks 16 of 47 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Minnesota, so $34,817 — the adjusted value of that $41,690 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 436 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $46,410 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $34,190 at the tenth percentile, $62,820 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Minnesota is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $34,817 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Minnesota adds its own income tax on top — which is why $34,266 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 47 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Minnesota is $46,410. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($34,190 to $62,820) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Minnesota rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Minnesota's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $34,817 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $34,266 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Minnesota income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.